Novel nanostructured high energy cathode material. Recently, the demand for rechargeable batteries has exploded due to the enormous increase in the variety and number of miniaturized devices. It is expected that this demand for high capacity rechargeable batteries as energy sources will become even greater in the future. This program is focused to develop novel high performance cathode materials for lithium rechargeable batteries. The outcomes of the project will be of great benefit to develop ....Novel nanostructured high energy cathode material. Recently, the demand for rechargeable batteries has exploded due to the enormous increase in the variety and number of miniaturized devices. It is expected that this demand for high capacity rechargeable batteries as energy sources will become even greater in the future. This program is focused to develop novel high performance cathode materials for lithium rechargeable batteries. The outcomes of the project will be of great benefit to develop new class rechargeable batteries that are economical, lightweight, environmentlly benign and high energy.Read moreRead less
Advanced Nanostructured Ceramic Composites for Ultracapacitors. The global climate changes and the related disastrous events such as heat flows, bushfires, and flooding will endanger the Australian population and our natural environment. The implementation of effective devices and technologies to reduce our carbon footprint is a priority task. The project addresses the issue by development of new ultracapacitor materials for next generation green energy storage devices through engineering and im ....Advanced Nanostructured Ceramic Composites for Ultracapacitors. The global climate changes and the related disastrous events such as heat flows, bushfires, and flooding will endanger the Australian population and our natural environment. The implementation of effective devices and technologies to reduce our carbon footprint is a priority task. The project addresses the issue by development of new ultracapacitor materials for next generation green energy storage devices through engineering and implementation of advanced nanoceramics and nanocomposites created by innovative nanotechnologies. The project will also contribute to other national research priorities such as materials and frontier technologies, reduction of atmospheric pollution, and decrease in the energy dependence of our country on oil.Read moreRead less
Development of nonvolatile fast proton-transport materials. There are many problems with existing proton-transport materials for emerging fuel cell applications such as electric vehicles. A high proton conductivity and high thermal stability are some of the requirements for fuel cell electrolytes. The aims of this project are to develop nonvolatile proton-transport matrices based on zwitterionic liquids with various acids, develop polymer gel materials based on these, and characterize these ne ....Development of nonvolatile fast proton-transport materials. There are many problems with existing proton-transport materials for emerging fuel cell applications such as electric vehicles. A high proton conductivity and high thermal stability are some of the requirements for fuel cell electrolytes. The aims of this project are to develop nonvolatile proton-transport matrices based on zwitterionic liquids with various acids, develop polymer gel materials based on these, and characterize these new proton-transport materials by analyzing ionic conductivity, viscosity, thermal behaviors, and their interrelationships.Read moreRead less
Development of Nanocrystalline Transition Metal Oxide and Polymer-Transition Metal Oxide Composite Materials for Rechargeable Lithium Battery Applications. Recent work by the applicants has shown that nanocrystalline titanates and aluminates hold considerable promise as lithium battery electrodes. Nanocrystalline anatase materials showed considerably greater lithium intercalation ratios compared with their microcrystalline counterparts, and doping with vanadium showed further improvements in ....Development of Nanocrystalline Transition Metal Oxide and Polymer-Transition Metal Oxide Composite Materials for Rechargeable Lithium Battery Applications. Recent work by the applicants has shown that nanocrystalline titanates and aluminates hold considerable promise as lithium battery electrodes. Nanocrystalline anatase materials showed considerably greater lithium intercalation ratios compared with their microcrystalline counterparts, and doping with vanadium showed further improvements in capacity. Sol-gel synthesised V-doped anatase materials produced an initial discharge capacity of 428 Ah/kg compared with only 280 mAh/kg for the undoped anatase electrode in the same Li test cell.In this project different dopants and preparation conditions will be investigated to produce nanocrystalline rutile and aluminate materials as potential candidates for high capacity lithium battery applications.Read moreRead less
Disorder and Dynamics in Superionic Conductors. This project will pursue a powerful new approach to superionic conductors, an important class of advanced materials that are critical to the development of clean-energy technologies, such as solid-oxide fuel cells. This will be a new direction for Australian science in the theoretical treatment of material properties. The project will also make significant progress in the computer-aided design of advanced materials, and in the simulation methods th ....Disorder and Dynamics in Superionic Conductors. This project will pursue a powerful new approach to superionic conductors, an important class of advanced materials that are critical to the development of clean-energy technologies, such as solid-oxide fuel cells. This will be a new direction for Australian science in the theoretical treatment of material properties. The project will also make significant progress in the computer-aided design of advanced materials, and in the simulation methods themselves, contributing to pure science in the form of our understanding of the physics and chemistry of materials at the most fundamental level. Read moreRead less
Developing New Cathode Materials for Lithium-ion Batteries Using Australian Mineral Resources. This project will bring together expertise in electrochmistry, materials science and structure characterisation to conduct collaborative research with Australian industry partners, Queensland Nickel Technology Pty Ltd and Sons of Gwalia Ltd. The aims of this project will be to investigate a series of cathode materials for use in lithium-ion batteries. The significance of this research is that the tech ....Developing New Cathode Materials for Lithium-ion Batteries Using Australian Mineral Resources. This project will bring together expertise in electrochmistry, materials science and structure characterisation to conduct collaborative research with Australian industry partners, Queensland Nickel Technology Pty Ltd and Sons of Gwalia Ltd. The aims of this project will be to investigate a series of cathode materials for use in lithium-ion batteries. The significance of this research is that the technology for preparing a series of new electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries will be developed by taking advantage of abundant Australian minerals resourecs. The expected outcomes will be to identify several new cathode materials with high energy density, long cycle life, low toxity and low cost.Read moreRead less
Composite cathode Materials for Lithium Ion Battery Using Chemical Coating Technique. Commercial Li-ion batteries have LiCoO2 as a cathode material due to its excellent cycle stability and rate capability. However, cobalt is a relatively rare and very expensive transition metal, so attention has been focussed on LiMn2O4 with a view to taking advantage of its low cost and environmentally friendly nature compared to LiCoO2. The aim of this develop new composite cathode materials by using a LCo02. ....Composite cathode Materials for Lithium Ion Battery Using Chemical Coating Technique. Commercial Li-ion batteries have LiCoO2 as a cathode material due to its excellent cycle stability and rate capability. However, cobalt is a relatively rare and very expensive transition metal, so attention has been focussed on LiMn2O4 with a view to taking advantage of its low cost and environmentally friendly nature compared to LiCoO2. The aim of this develop new composite cathode materials by using a LCo02. The aim of this project is to develop new composite cathode materials by using a LCo02 coating on Li-Mn-0 materials. The expected outcome is a new cathode material which has high-energy capacity, long cycle life and low cost.Read moreRead less
Lithium/Sulfur rechargeable battery for power applications. The Lithium/Sulphur battery system is very promising for large-scale power applications as it has the highest energy density and lowest cost among various types of rechargeable batteries. However, the degradation of the capacity and short cycle life of Li/S battery have been problematic for commercial development. The aim of this project is to study the mechanisms of capacity fading and to develop effective means such as use of carbon n ....Lithium/Sulfur rechargeable battery for power applications. The Lithium/Sulphur battery system is very promising for large-scale power applications as it has the highest energy density and lowest cost among various types of rechargeable batteries. However, the degradation of the capacity and short cycle life of Li/S battery have been problematic for commercial development. The aim of this project is to study the mechanisms of capacity fading and to develop effective means such as use of carbon nanotubes and nanosize composite absorbents to improve the cycle life of Li/S batteries. The expected outcomes are the development of sulphur-containing cathode materials and polymer electrolytes, enabling electric vehicles to be a technically competitive and environmentally superior transportation option.Read moreRead less
Investigation of Nano-materials for use in Lithium Rechargable Batteries. Lithium ion batteries are emerging as a new generation of rechargeable batteries for power sources of portable electronics. The aim of this project is to explore potential applications of novel nano-materials such as intermetallic alloys, transition-metal oxides, and carbon nanotubes as anode materials in lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. Significance and expected outcomes will be the development of alternative anode ma ....Investigation of Nano-materials for use in Lithium Rechargable Batteries. Lithium ion batteries are emerging as a new generation of rechargeable batteries for power sources of portable electronics. The aim of this project is to explore potential applications of novel nano-materials such as intermetallic alloys, transition-metal oxides, and carbon nanotubes as anode materials in lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. Significance and expected outcomes will be the development of alternative anode materials with improved performance in energy capacity and cycle life over existing anode materials. This could open opportunities for Australian mineral companies to take advantage of the developments to produce value-added new products.Read moreRead less
First principles for development of novel hybrid electrochemical energy storage and conversion systems. Electrochemical energy is regarded as an alternative green energy/power source. The breakthrough technologies to be developed will allow us to realise the great goal of widespread usage of electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles, inducing dramatic improvements to our environment. It will also help us to reduce our dependence on the current oil-driven economy, and increase national energ ....First principles for development of novel hybrid electrochemical energy storage and conversion systems. Electrochemical energy is regarded as an alternative green energy/power source. The breakthrough technologies to be developed will allow us to realise the great goal of widespread usage of electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles, inducing dramatic improvements to our environment. It will also help us to reduce our dependence on the current oil-driven economy, and increase national energy security and energy independence. The project will establish indigenous expertise and scientific know-how on electrochemical energy storage and conversion technology. The competitive results from this research will provide an incentive to the Australian automobile and energy industries. Read moreRead less